Cleaning a used Protein Skimmer, Worth It?

I found a great deal on a Bak-Pak 2 Dual Pack protein skimmer (only $25) on CL but the issue is that the skimmer is REALLY dirty. The pumps work fine, all the parts are there but the skimmer is just gross, I will post pics below. I have a few questions that will determine whether I should buy it or not.

1. Is it worth it?
2. If it is worth it what does it take to clean it?




Look forward to any thoughts on this.

 

Just soak it in some vinegar

 

get a 5 gal pail fill it with water and 3 or 4 cups of vinegar and let it run for a few days.
it will then be easy to give it a scrub down like new

 

Thanks for the heads up.

Now my follow up question will be is there a better skimmer out there that would be a better long-term investment (I.E. like an Eshopps or something similar?)

 

Better skimmers out there? Sure!

Better investment? Than the $25 and the cost of 4 cups of vinegar and some elbow grease? I sure doubt it!! ;D

I'd clean it up and run it for a bit. Soak it as previously mentioned and then hose it off and scrub it up. Should take 1/2 hour or less. And if you don't like it it shouldn't be too hard to sell it for $30 (to cover the extra cost of the vinegar ).

 

Just want to give my experience with it. I bought one new, it had the upgraded mj 1200s. It was terribly loud and until I modded a bubble trap there was and enormous amount of microbubbles in the tank.
The good. It was awesome at doing the job it was designed for. Produced decent skimmate and was a hob. Did what I needed it to do.
With that said. A $200+ skimmer for $25 is not a bad deal at all. Clean it up and put it in service. After I bought I would not have considered this my last skimmer I would ever buy.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

+1 to vinegar water


its also a good idea to run your powerheads and return pump through with some every couple of months

 

I don't like those skimmers but for the price... Should be a lot better then nothing.

 

You cant beat the $25 price. But for quality I would go reef octopus HOB all the way. But you wont get one for $25.